Charles Nailen/The Hoya  

Name: George Livadas

Sport: Ice hockey

Position: Left wing

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

High School: The Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, N.J.

School/Year: COL ’04

Majors: Russian and Small Business anagement

High School Highlights: Played varsity hockey for two years . Played lacrosse for two years . Member of the Slavic National Honor Society.

Georgetown Highlights: Co-captain of the club hockey team . Leading scorer junior year . First-line player all three years at Georgetown . Hockey team made it to Nationals the past two years.

When did you get into hockey? I started playing when I was seven years old. I’m from L.A. and was part of the Wayne Gretzky boon of players. It suddenly became more visible to people who play hockey. I was never really into Wayne Gretzky himself, but I liked the L.A. Kings. I had been interested in hockey since I was four – my dad always watched it on TV.

How old were you when you learned to skate? I was six. They had lessons for my brother – he was five at the time – and me. We took private lessons from some figure skating instructor since they didn’t really have any hockey skating instructors.

Biggest obstacle you have had to overcome: I worked in Moscow for a summer by myself – I didn’t go with a program or school or anything. It was the summer after my freshman year in college, and I was just living in Moscow and working for the Institute of International Education, a small company. Just sort of being dropped there was kind of tough, but it was definitely worthwhile. I did have an apartment to myself since we knew some people there, so that made it easier. When I was there I edited a lot of the English they had already written, I did some of the translating, and I did some Internet research in Russian.

Favorite aspect of hockey: I tell people it’s the fastest sport – everything happens so much quicker since you’re on skates, and it’s really physical. Combining those two things is the most interesting for me.

Have you ever been in an accident? Last January I flipped my car like three times. I didn’t get hurt or anything – I just had a scratch on my knee from climbing out on the glass. I was driving on the highway during a bad snowstorm, and my car started turning sideways for no reason. I drifted into the middle of the road and then flipped over.

If you could be great at any sport other than hockey, what would it be and why? Probably lacrosse. It’s the main other sport that I really like. By far, hockey and lacrosse are my two favorite sports to play.

Best Georgetown memory to date: It was probably the road trip we took to Duke for hockey last year – it was one of my better memories. There were a couple of incidents. One was that two other guys and I got tricked – literally tricked – into going into this run-down gas station that was converted to a fitness center. There was a sign on the outside of it that said, “Fitness Center – All Female Staff.” The other guys called us and told us that they were already inside, and they parked their cars in front to make it look like they had already gone in. They were really across the street and just waited for us to drive up and go in. It was the sketchiest place I’ve ever been. So when we came out and left, the guys had already left. So even though I didn’t really enjoy it, it was one of the funnier things that has happened.

Favorite pump-up song: The Last of the Mohicans theme song.

If you could play hockey like any one person of your choice, who would it be and why? Jason Allison. He plays for the L.A. Kings. I just like everything about the way he plays – he’s very physical and a good passer, which is what I like the best about him. He’s a really good play-maker, too.

Person who has impacted your life most profoundly: Probably my family in general – my parents and my brother, Alex. Just having one brother, we’re pretty close. I guess you could say my brother the most if I had to say one person only. We used to fight a lot, but not as much anymore.

If your house were on fire, what one thing you would grab to take with you? My cell phone. Since I’ve had it, I don’t know anyone’s phone numbers anymore, so I’d be lost without it.

If you could change one rule about hockey, what would it be and why? The same rule they try to change every year in the NHL – holding. Players always grab and clutch and it slows the game down. They already have a holding rule, so it’s not really changing a rule, it’s just enforcing it.

Thing you miss most about living at home: Either the food or my dogs. I have a French Bulldog, Pierre, and a Boston Terrier, Duffy.

One goal you hope to accomplish before graduation: Winning the Championship League in hockey. We just moved up a division this year and winning our first year would be something I’d like.

One thing you could not live without: Playing some type of competitive sport. I picked up squash and golf. I’ve played golf for a couple of years now, and this summer my brother taught me squash because they have a court in the basement of his frat house at Cornell.

Favorite childhood TV show: “The Simpsons.”

Coolest place you’ve ever traveled to: Cephalonia, Greece. It’s a small island, but they filmed Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and it blew up to a big tourist place. It’s the island where my grandfather grew up.

Best thing about going to boarding school for high school: That you get to live with all of your friends. Boarding schools are unheard of in L.A., and a lot of my friends thought that I was just getting shipped off because I did something wrong. But it couldn’t be more fun than living with all of your friends.

Was coming to the East Coast for school a culture shock? Not really. I always thought I was more of an East Coast person. My high school was close to New York and I really like the sort of culture there. People always say that they like California because it’s so laid back, but I like it here because it’s more intense.

Most embarrassing moment: There’s one from when I was little. I played soccer when I was younger, and I played goalie for a while. I remember getting scored on with the ball going between my legs, and I remember being really embarrassed. I just remember looking down and watching as the ball rolled between my legs.

Have you ever gotten into a fight because of hockey? Last year when we played Maryland – I think it’s because of that game that they’re our biggest rivals now. Junior defenseman Joe Spitz, senior forward Sean Lynch and I kept cheap-shotting the other team – we were just playing physical, and trying to take them off their game, I guess you could say. Then the whole Maryland team and fans started talking trash to our team. There was a big pile-up in front of the penalty box, and some guy just pulled me down by the head and started punching me. I didn’t fight back because we were playing [Virginia] the next day and if you get penalized for fighting you can’t play for two games. I just held my helmet on and took it – I probably got punched like 20 times. But the other guy got kicked out and I didn’t.

If you could have any one talent, what would it be and why? To be able to read a lot faster and actually understand what I’m reading. I’m taking a Tolstoy class right now, and I have 100 pages of reading a night, so if I could read faster I could do that painlessly. All of my work would be a lot easier.

Ideal car: Probably the new Porsche SUV – the “Cayenne” – in silver.

Plans for after graduation: I’m going to work for a couple of years, hopefully in finance or consulting – like everyone else – and then go to business school. I’d like to stay on the East Coast for the whole time.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why? I’d maybe be less shy around people I don’t know. I’m usually really outgoing and loud around people I know, but I’m a lot quieter around people I don’t know.

Best thing about living in L.A.: Being able to come back and telling people about the celebrities I see. I don’t find it that interesting, but it’s just fun to tell the stories. I’ve seen Kramer from Seinfeld at a deli and Calista Flockhart, which was kind of scary because she’s so thin. She’s a lot skinnier in real life than she is on TV. I’ve also seen Ben Stiller, also at a deli, and Rob Blake, who used to play for the Kings.

One bad habit you have: Procrastinating.

Favorite way to procrastinate: Just sitting there and staring at my computer and talking on instant messenger. I have a laptop, but I just can’t close it. I’d be better off if I just turned it off or signed offline, but I can’t do it, no matter what.

Hardest adjustment you had to make coming to college: It was hard going from Lawrenceville to Bates, since Lawrenceville is in the city and Bates is in the middle of nowhere in Maine. There just wasn’t a whole lot to do. It was a big adjustment, and that’s one of the reasons I didn’t like it. Coming to Georgetown wasn’t a big adjustment. Being a transfer was tough, but not that tough, especially because of hockey and other stuff.

What would the title of your autobiography be? Probably a nickname my friends gave me. I’m Greek, so they call me George Livadalopoulotzakos so I’d probably just use that. It’s more intensely Greek, which my friends think is funny for some reason.

If you could own any sports franchise, what would it be and why? It would definitely be a hockey team, but I don’t know which one. The Kings are my favorite team by far. They’re still not that good, but they are good and young, and I think they’ll get better.

Three magazines on your ideal coffee table: en’s Health, Maxim and Business Week.

Best class you have taken at Georgetown: Probably a class I’m taking right now – Entrepreneurship with Professor Finnerty. It’s completely different from other classes I’m taking. It’s not strictly academic – it’s much more focused on how to manage life. It’s just much more life-oriented than other classes.

One piece of advice you would give to an incoming freshman: Pick whatever major you want to. Especially now that I’m applying for jobs I just realize it doesn’t matter, and people just want to see you do well in something. Even in investment banking, they don’t really care that much. Everyone always tells you that, and no one really believes it, but it’s true.

What is under your bed right now? Lots of laundry, some boxes, and, no. mostly laundry. I think I’ve let it pile up for a couple of weeks.